The Taskforce on Net Zero Policy has reported ‘encouraging progress’ on net zero efforts in many regions of the world, however there are still shortcomings.
The Taskforce, which is an initiative to take forward key elements of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities (HLEG), made the assessment in its inaugural report, which was published at COP29 in Baku.
It found that while net zero policy is ‘advancing at pace’ in many markets, the landscape is still ‘ insufficiently aligned with a 1.5°C future’, and therefore misaligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
‘A mixed picture’
“Our research presents a mixed picture. On one hand we should be encouraged – policy action is accelerating and broadening in most G20 countries and the actions undertaken so far indicate that net zero is increasingly forming a core component of policy and regulatory formation,” commented taskforce co-chair Helena Vines Fiestas.
“But there is no escaping the fact that the steps we’ve seen are not enough to align us with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. We’re already off track for 1.5c and to have any hope of correcting our course, we need to see this policy gap closed.”
The report, entitled Net Zero Policy Matters: Assessing Progress and Taking Stock of Corporate and Financial Net Zero Policy, assessed more than 1,000 policy instruments in place across the G20, and found that policy formation is more widespread than may have previously been expected.
In addition, it found increasing examples of real economy policies that place requirements or obligations on companies and financial institutions to act on net zero, even in emerging markets, as well as efforts to implement actionable sustainable finance measures.
However, at the same time, only minority of corporate and finance policies articulate a link to 1.5°C goals, and those that do relate to risk-based scenario analysis frameworks.
Policy blind spots
“It’s clear that, while we’ve seen the focus of non-state actor-related policy begin to expand, there are still blind spots that urgently need to be addressed,” added taskforce co-chair Andrea Meza Murillo.
“No transition can be fully effective without consideration of land-nature, adaptation and social justice issues. By facilitating corporates and financial institutions to orient their activity and account for these issues, policymakers have an opportunity to mount a truly systemic response to the transition which benefits economies and societies the world over.” Read more here. [Photo: UN Climate Change]
